Conservatives wasted little time criticizing President Obama's new $3.8 trillion budget proposal, saying the plan does little to cut back spending.

"It's a campaign document," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., charged.

"It doesn't reduce the deficit at all," Sen. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., said.

White House officials claim the plan will save $4 trillion over the next decade.

But Republicans say the real savings will actually be as little as $300 billion, or $30 billion a year.

The president's plan totals $3.8 trillion for this year alone, prompting conservative lawmakers to sound the alarm again that government spending and the massive national debt are out of control.

"Somebody asked me if this budget was dead on arrival and I said, no. No, it's not dead on arrival. It's debt on arrival," Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said.

"This is an ambush budget," Barrasso said. "The president is ambushing the American people."

The budget includes stimulus-style spending on roads and schools and higher taxes for upper-income Americans.

"At a time when our economy is growing and creating jobs at a faster clip, we've got to do everything in our power to keep this recovery on track," Obama said in defense of his plan.

But GOP lawmakers argue that government spending in the stimulus bill didn't help the economy before, and it's doubtful such a plan will help now.

Conservative Republicans are also calling for more realistic cuts in Medicare and Medicaid. The costs of both programs are expected to double in the years ahead.